Hurricane Harvey Is Pummeling Texas

Texas is experiencing the most devastating hurricane in their history. Houston is no stranger to hurricanes, with severe ones coming once every several years. However, the onslaught of rain is unprecedented. The flooding is tremendous, and it brings danger in many forms other than drowning. The water mixes with every thing in the area, including trash, septic tank overfill, gasoline, animal carcasses, etc. The risk of infection is extremely high, and just a small amount of exposure to contaminated water can cause life threatening illnesses. The authorities are responding as quickly as they can, but it’s safe to say that the devastation is not over.

There are even some reports that the storm will recharge as it’s moves over the ocean, and then continue to dump rainfall on southern areas of Texas and parts of Mexico. That would increase the already unprecedented amount of rainfall up to 18 more inches. The extra rainfall may also force the National Weather Service to include even more colors to it’s depiction graph. The service has already had to add two more shades of deep purple to represent the amount of rainfall in the Houston area.This is an action they’ve never had to perform before. The verifiable increase of measuring the destruction makes the severity visible. The highest reported amounts of rainfall are near 40 inches in some areas and climbing.

The Aftermath Yet to Come

Texas is also an economically prosperous state. Houston specifically is unparalleled in the world in economic management of energy. Wikipedia’s Houston economy page lists it as the world capital in oil and gas.

“Houston is known as a world capital of the oil and gas industry with over 5000 energy firms doing business in the region. Historically, Houston has had several growth spurts (and some devastating economic recessions) related to the oil industry. The discovery of oil near Houston in 1901 led to its first growth spurt — by the 1920s, Houston had grown to almost 140,000 people. The city is a leading domestic and international center for virtually every segment of the oil and gas industry – exploration, production, transmission, marketing, service, supply, offshore drilling, and technology. “

The havoc Harvey inflicted on the state will be felt within the oil and gas industry, which fuels so much of our economy here in the states. This isn’t to say the loss of life Harvey will cause is less important. However, We all know how many of us are focused around gas prices. Harvey’s wrath has just begun it seems, and the loss of life and prosperity it’s in it’s cross-hairs. A sheriff in the Houston area was quoted by the weather channel saying, “I’m scared to see how many bodies we’re going to find.” Harrowing words indeed.

How Metal Barns Deal With Storms Like Harvey

We’re not going to lie to you, the rainfall present in Texas is unprecedented. Herein, we don’t know exactly how our barns would fair with forty inches of water constantly eroding away during the days of flooding. We do know that a hurricane like Harvey does not come often. Severe storms have been growing in severity in the recent decades, and scientists chalk it up to climate change. The evidence is definitely leaning in that direction, but the debate rages on for many reasons. Whatever side you fall on, the evidence of severe storms increasing in frequency is significant whether or not it is attributed to climate change or not. That’s where we come in.

Every hurricane comes with strong winds, and Harvey is no exception. The winds from Harvey were strongest where the storm hit. Yet there were still strong winds far inland. The stronger the hurricane the farther inward the winds go and the stronger they are before eventually tapering off over a distance. If you’re unfortunate enough to get hit with brunt of a category five hurricane, there’s not many structures that could withstand the wind-speeds. Steel is still your best bet for keeping your property after the storm hits. Our certified barns can protect your equipment against wind speeds that hurricanes will bring. If you’re in a high-risk area, talk about super-certification with your building advisor to determine the available wind speed and snow load certifications for your area. Harvey was and still is a devestating storm, but you can always do more to prepare. Considering the weather predicted in the future, you should.